The Doorway to Summer
by BenignUser
Summary: Daisuke visits Mimi in New York for the summer. The two meet up with Wallace, but things take an odd turn when the three are swept away into a different world...


Started: November 17th, 2005  
Finished: January 12th, 2006  
Revised: January 26th, 2007

* * *

Summary: _Daisuke visits Mimi in New York for the summer. The two soon meet up with Wallace, but things take an odd turn when the three are swept away into a different world._

* * *

The Doorway to Summer

As thrilling as the trip from Tokyo to New York was, Daisuke couldn't wait for the twelve-hour long flight to finally come to an end. His wished he could have been able to simply catch a lift from Imperial Dramon again. With a steady descent, the plane finally landed. And when he first stepped out of the airport terminal, onto American soil, he loudly vocalized his delight that the long journey was finally over.

"We're finally here!" Daisuke announced with a smile. He looked down to his partner, who had traveled with him overseas.

Chibimon took a look at his surroundings to try and re-familiarize himself with New York City. After all, he and Daisuke had visited Mimi here twice before. He quickly commented on the strange and foreign chatter that surrounded them. "But, Daisuke, we don't understand the language here."

"Cheer up, Chibimon. We're here to have fun this summer!"

"Last summer was a lot of trouble," Chibimon reminded his partner with a huff.

Daisuke chuckled nervously, thinking back to the previous year. "Yeah, last summer wasn't that great. Taichi-sempai disappeared, and we almost lost the other Chosen. And I remember Hikari-chan mentioning how she'd like to spend the next summer with me. And now this had to happen… When will I ever get a girlfriend, Chibimon?"

The little blue digimon simply shrugged at the question.

With a slight grin, Daisuke continued, "You're right that not much good came out of last summer. But at least now I've got a fun date to look forward to in New York."

"Daisuke-kun!" a voice called over to him.

He and Chibimon both turned in the direction the voice had come from, and both smiled in reply. "Mimi-san!" Daisuke waved to her and Palmon as they made their way to them.

She smiled in return at them, taking note of their exhaustion from the long flight. "Rise and shine."

"You seem pretty excited," Daisuke commented, and she led her new guests off in a direction away from the terminal.

"Of course," Mimi said. "It's because we finally get to see each other after such a long time! How have you two been?"

"I've been great!" Chibimon announced. "Daisuke's not been so great, though."

"Awe, what's got you down, Daisuke?" Mimi asked him as they turned a corner, stopping at a red light.

Daisuke shrugged it off. "Ah, it's nothing. Don't worry yourself when we came here to have some fun."

"If you say so," Mimi said, and not even after a small silence she questioned him further. "Is it supposed to be some sort of guy problem?"

Daisuke smirked. "Only Yamato-san has those."

"Who's got what?" a new voice asked.

"What?" Daisuke echoed as he turned around in his surprise to see the new arrival.

"Been a while, hasn't it, Daisuke?"

"Wallace!" Daisuke exclaimed at the sight of his friend from the previous summer; his digimon partner at his heels.

In much the same expression, Chibimon cheered at Wallace's partner. "Gumimon!"

"It's great seeing you again, Chibimon!" Gumimon said.

"How did you know to come here, Wallace?" Daisuke asked.

Mimi answered immediately, "I invited him."

Wallace nodded with a smirk. "Yup. Mimi just couldn't resist bringing me along."

Daisuke quirked a curious brow. "What do you mean by that…?"

"You could be a little bit more appreciative and welcoming," Wallace sighed at Daisuke. "Or is this suspicious act all because Hikari turned you down?"

With a silent gasp, Daisuke turned from his friends. He blushed red in embarrassment and his eyes trailed away from them. For the time being his looking towards the passing arrivals and departures seemed more interesting than pursuing his current conversation.

"Don't be like that," Gumimon said to his partner. "Look, now, you've made him blush."

Realization washed over Mimi, and despite herself, she laughed slightly. "Are you serious? Daisuke-kun, I never knew you liked Hikari-chan like that."

"Don't give up after your first try," Wallace said, a cocky grin covering his face. "Trust me."

"You two stay quiet," Daisuke huffed in annoyance.

Wallace looked over to his partner. "I think he needs some cheering up."

Gumimon gave a puzzled look. "Is there anything we can do?"

"I don't need your pity!" Daisuke said stubbornly, arms folded over his chest.

"_Do you hear me…?_" a female voice suddenly whispered into Daisuke's ears. He turned around to look at Mimi, but she was busying herself with Palmon.

And so Daisuke voiced his confusion, "Huh?"

Chibimon quickly noticed his partners discomfort. "What's wrong, Daisuke?"

"Just now," he said to Chibimon. "I think I heard a voice."

"What voice?" Mimi turned around to look at him.

"_Over here!_" the female voice said urgently, and he spun around to the source.

"It's a girl's voice," Daisuke said as he looked around, but couldn't tell where the sound had come from.

"I don't hear anything," Chibimon said.

Gumimon spread apart his ears high into the air for his own attempt, but quickly decided to agree with Chibimon. "Me neither," he said, and his ears fell to his side.

Wallace grinned. He wouldn't miss such an opportunity to tease his friend. "I could almost feel bad for him. I think Hikari's rejection is making him delusional."

"Why you…" Daisuke threatened.

"_Please,_" the same voice said again, pleading this time.

"I knew it! I heard it clearly this time!" Daisuke said. Nobody replied as a sudden whirlwind engulfed the gathered Chosen, lifting them into the air. Other cars and pedestrians were left unharmed and faded from Daisuke's vision as he embraced his siren's call. He clutched his eyes against the wind, and as soon as it had circled them, it vanished. The group was dropped to the ground, where they all straightened up to question their surroundings.

Daisuke was the first to comment on the occurrence, "What... what just happened?"

"Daisuke!" Chibimon cried out and jumped into Daisuke's open arms, his voice quivering in worry.

"The buildings… they're so different…" Wallace spoke in disbelief. "They look distorted."

"Very strange," Gumimon said, taking a look at the architecture around them that seemed to bend and shape at improper angles. He stood in the immediate shadow of a nearby skyscraper that by all sense of gravity and logic should have completely toppled over him. He at it upwards with a finger, where it's horizontal wall sturdily remained. The building remained standing.

A loud scream pieced through the air, causing an immediate interruption to their current analysis of the new world. They all turned in the direction the sound had come from.

"What the heck was that?" Daisuke asked.

"No idea," Wallace said. While the furious scream of anger and fear had them standing on edge, they all knew that the sound would mean habitants. With a shared nod in silent agreement, the three Chosen and their partners began their trek towards the origin.

"There's nobody here," Mimi said as they walked. She glanced back and forth and sideways for anything that moved, yet the streets remained quiet and empty.

"We are in New York, aren't we?" Daisuke questioned. "So what happened with all the city's residents?"

Chibimon suddenly shivered in his arms. "Daisuke… I'm cold."

Daisuke blinked in confusion at his partner, and not a moment later began feeling the very same sudden chill that had previously surrounded his digimon. "Where'd that come from?"

The others shrugged at the question, neither of them knowing or being able to provide an answer.

"We're still the only ones here," Mimi said. She sneezed from the cold no later than when she finished her words.

Gumimon frowned. "Nobody around, and so very cold… this place is so depressing."

Chibimon said, "I think so, too. It is very sad here."

Daisuke suddenly stopped mid-step and turned around to face Wallace. "We're in some strange world again! Is this somehow related to you again? Is this Chocomon's world? Well, is it?"

Gumimon interrupted him. "It can't be since Chocomon isn't around anymore."

Wallace frowned. "Don't talk about that, Gumimon."

After a brief and uncomfortable silence, Daisuke sighed. "Sorry about that, I guess it was uncalled for."

Wallace shrugged. He wasn't willing to offer his immediate forgiveness; all the more reason to continue with his teasing. He said, "Perhaps this world was created by your grieving heart, Daisuke?"

"And why is that?" Daisuke asked skeptically.

Chibimon offered an answer. "Because of Hikari's rejection."

And then Daisuke dropped Chibimon from his arms, letting the little digimon fall flat on the ground, and questioned him in annoyance, "And why exactly do you keep reminding me of that?"

Mimi sighed at their bickering. "Can we focus on finding a place to rest? At this rate we'll all freeze to death."

Chibimon sat up from where he had fallen, and visibly shivered. "So cold."

Mimi walked by a nearby household; it was one of the few to be standing flat and upright. She peeked in through the window and a few short seconds later deemed it uninhabited. She commented, "Since nobody's here, then we get the whole place to ourselves, right?"

"Mimi-san, this isn't the time for…" Daisuke began, but was cut off by Wallace.

"Do what you like, Mimi," he said.

"Thank you, Wallace," she replied with a smile and joined Palmon to work on opening the door.

Daisuke sighed in their direction. "We've got more important things to worry about, like getting back to our own world! Mimi-san, are you listening?"

As he prepared to say more, Daisuke's interruption came in the form of a rather loud sneeze. He mumbled to himself quietly, he headed towards the door with his mind now on nothing else other then warming up. "Damn this cold," he swore, "I came here for the summer!"

* * *

The small group had readily settled in the empty house, and was now busily trying to stay warm. Wallace had left slightly earlier to look around and further explore the large household, and had just now come back to the others.

He spoke eagerly upon his entrance, "Here you go, Mimi, I found some winter coats."

She smiled cheerfully at him. "Thank you, Wallace. That's very kind of you."

He returned her smile with a compliment. "It's no problem at all, and I'm sure it'll look great on you."

Daisuke groaned in annoyance at their flirting. Wallace noticed immediately and turned to his friend, showing him another coat. "I brought one for you, too."

"Oh," Daisuke said simply, and took the coat, "Thanks."

Wallace frowned. "Also there's really nobody else in the house."

"Yeah, I figured as much," Daisuke said. "But how did it get so cold that fast? It's almost as if a blizzard is about to blow over."

Chibimon pouted. "I want to go back to the summer days."

Mimi mused silently, in thought, and said, "It's sort of like this story I heard..."

"What story?" Daisuke immediately asked.

"There's this children's tale of a boy that lives in a place where it's always winter, and the boy is then always looking for the door that will take him to a place where it's always summer… always looking for this doorway."

"I see," Daisuke nodded at Mimi's explanation.

"The story says that the boy was betrayed by his love and that he's always looking for a new one," Mimi stopped for a second, and voiced a line from memory, "In winter when two hearts are true, the doorway to summer will open."

Chibimon stifled a giggle. "That seems like it's about Daisuke… since Hikari rejected him…"

The partner in question growled at Chibimon. "Stop it with that!"

"_You came_," the siren returned.

Daisuke looked around, yet still saw nobody. He frowned, whispering slightly to himself, "What's going on?"

"_You came here_," the voice of the girl whispered again.

Mimi looked at him questioningly, and he replied, "It's that voice from before."

"What's it saying?" she asked.

"Mimi-san, can't you hear it?" Daisuke asked.

"I don't hear anything," she told him truthfully.

Chibimon said. "I think he's trying to imagine Hikari is here."

"That's not it!" Daisuke said angrily.

"_I've been waiting for you_," the voice whispered.

"Who are you?" Daisuke asked aloud. It was all too frustrating to deal with. The others looked on at him worriedly.

Wallace frowned at his friend. "Daisuke…"

"Where are you?" Daisuke asked loudly again. He ran ahead of his friends and opened the front door of the house and looked around outside. He was entranced by the call. He turned back to the others, looking at them with a pair of almost paranoid eyes. "I can't see her anywhere."

Mimi walked over to him with a concerned look. "Daisuke-kun, are you alright?"

"But I heard her," Daisuke said, and exited the household. The others immediately followed him outside in their winter clothing; they couldn't dare to leave him alone in his current state. "She's around here… somewhere."

Chibimon complained to his partner, "Daisuke, c'mon, it's too cold. Let's go back."

A pale mist descended upon the group as they trekked through the empty streets. Wallace marveled at the tornado of miniature specs of white as they circled and twirled around him. He gaped in amazement, his voice barely above a whisper, "Snow…"

Gumimon exclaimed. "Snow is falling! It really is!"

"It's getting heavier…" Wallace warned. "We could be walking right into that blizzard."

Daisuke ignored him and continued to march onwards.

It was Mimi that suddenly stopped. Out of the corner of her eye something sparkling caught her attention and she looked to that direction in confusion. The others noticed her stop and neared to join her. "What is it, Mimi-san?" Daisuke asked her.

She pointed in the direction she was looking. "There are fireflies over there."

The group looked to where she was pointing. In a small condensed area, they could see several dozen sparks of light flying around together in a cloud of dazzling lights. Each one of the lights remained close to the main cluster, not daring to move too far apart from the others.

Gumimon gasped. "There really are fireflies!"

Wallace frowned. "Fireflies? In this weather…?"

The sound of footsteps interrupted their amazement, and the group of fireflies flew off, scattering amongst the wind. They all looked around to find the source of the sound. Mimi whispered, loudly enough for only the other Chosen to hear, "What was that? Is someone actually here?"

"Something is definitely here," Wallace answered. He tensed, gripping his digivice instinctively in preparation for the worst.

Chibimon arched himself forward, looking around cautiously. "Daisuke, I think I sense a digimon."

A figure appeared from behind a nearby corner. Chibimon immediately turned to attack, but Mimi stepped in front of him and he came to a halt. "Wait," Mimi said, "That's not a digimon."

A young girl appeared before them, no older than Daisuke, dressed in a simple white shirt and a pair of shorts to match. She didn't seem the least bit cold. Her utterly pale skin matched the tone of her clothing. If not for her unsettled and rough head of red hair, she might have appeared transparent amongst the hills of white snow that surrounded her. She began walking towards them, slowly, calmly, and looked over at the gathered Chosen and their Digimon with a pair of rather curious emerald green eyes.

"Wow," Wallace explained. He had instantly lost all seriousness of the situation. "She's cute!"

The blond American walked up to her, greeting her kindly, "Hi there! What's your name? Are you from this world? I'm Wallace."

The girl seemed to ignore him, her eyes transfixed on Daisuke. She spoke, her voice soft and very familiar to him. It was the siren's song. "You finally came here…"

"You're the one who called me here, aren't you?" Daisuke asked, already aware of and not expecting the answer.

The girl smiled and ran up to Daisuke, twirling her arms around his waist for a hug. "Oh, I'm so happy you're here! What's your name? What do you like?"

Daisuke stuttered at her display of affection, frozen in his tracks and unsure of what to do. "Huh? Umm…"

"Daisuke-kun," Mimi said teasingly. "You're blushing."

Gumimon laughed at his partner. "Too bad for you, Wallace, seems like she's smitten by Daisuke."

"Unbelievable," Wallace said.

"Good for you," Chibimon said to Daisuke. "She seems pretty nice and friendly."

The girl blinked down at Chibimon. She turned to Daisuke, releasing him from the hug, and asked skeptically, "What is this thing?"

Chibimon gasped. "I'm not a thing! I'm Chibimon!"

"Chibimon?" the girl wondered aloud. She looked around the others and they slowly introduced themselves.

"My name is Mimi. And this is Palmon."

"I'm Gumimon, and the guy you met before is my partner Wallace."

Wallace smiled brightly at the girl as she turned to look at him in her attempt to match name and person. He grinned at her casually, "Meeting you brings me great joy."

She ignored his words and turned back to Daisuke. "And your name?"

"I'm Daisuke," he said.

In the midst of introductions, Chibimon thoughts trailed back to the digimon he had earlier sensed. He inhaled a breath of air and attempted to follow the scent. He didn't make it more than a few steps before he bumped into some resistance. He opened his eyes and looked up at the girl they had just met. She looked down at him. "What are you doing?"

Daisuke, too, looked over at his partner in wonder. "Chibimon? What're you up to?"

Chibimon stuttered. "Umm… nothing. I just thought, eh, sorry…"

The girl folded her arms, looking down at Chibimon irately. "This thing here doesn't seem to be good for anything."

Chibimon frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

The girl ignored the question and hurriedly turned away from the digimon. "Daisuke, let's play!"

"Eh?" Daisuke blinked at her. He took notice of the snowfall beginning to settle.

She grabbed his hand and tugged him by the arm. She cheered enthusiastically, "Let's go!"

"Wait," Daisuke said, his mind full of questions. "What is your name? Where did you come from?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't know where I came from. And my name is Daisuke's choice."

Daisuke stared in disbelief, his voice complimenting his expression. "Mine?"

"Yes," the girl replied. "What kind of name would you like me to have?"

Daisuke frowned. "What kind of name would…"

Chibimon interrupted him. "Try Hikari! Daisuke likes that name!"

"Chibimon…" Daisuke groaned. "Stop it with that already."

"Then my name is Hikari," the girl said.

Daisuke sighed. "No, not that name..."

"No?" the girl asked. "Why not?"

Daisuke remained silent. He couldn't give an answer to such a question to someone he had just met. Mimi noticed his discomfort and immediately tried to come to his aid. "Nat-chan is a good name," she said. "Because of summer, Natsu, so how about Nat-chan?"

"Mimi-san…" Daisuke started.

"But it's a nice Japanese name," Chibimon said.

"Daisuke," the girl asked. "Do you like this name?"

Daisuke blinked at her in confusion. "Eh? I guess so."

"Then my name is now Nat-chan!" she exclaimed.

* * *

"No more snow," Chibimon whined to his partner. The group trudged through the streets in the midst of a light snowfall. Many dark clouds followed them overhead; they appeared to be the reforming blizzard.

"Digimental Up!" Daisuke called out, not for the first time that day. The same result repeated once again, in which nothing had happened.

Mimi sighed at him. "Just give it up, it really doesn't look like our digimon can evolve here."

"I know," Daisuke acknowledged in defeat. "I'd just feel a lot safer if Lighdramon were here in case another snow storm starts."

A short silence followed, the others sharing Daisuke's worry as they stared up at the clouds in the sky. Wallace gave a slight frown. "Just how did we end up here anyways?"

The only reply he received was a shrug from Daisuke. "Beats me, but we've got to find a way out."

"What about the doors into summer?" Chibimon asked. "Like that story."

Daisuke shrugged once again. "Maybe."

A sudden blow struck Daisuke against the back of his head as he continued to walk. He yelped, falling forwards. "Ouch!"

Mimi gasped. "Are you alright?"

"Ugh, what hit me?" he looked behind Mimi, where Natsu giggled and knelt down to form yet another snowball in her hand. She got up to her feet and threw it at Daisuke again. She gloated when it hit him. "Got'cha!"

Daisuke groaned as he pushed himself off the ground, and likewise formed a snowball of his own. He grinned towards Natsu, and threw it. "Take that!"

With the danger momentarily forgotten, Mimi and Wallace similarly started throwing away snowballs of their own at Daisuke, and he instantly became occupied with them.

"Snowball fight!" Chibimon cheered, bending over to scoop up some snow. "I wanna join in, too!"

Natsu scowled as she moved towards him. "We don't need any things like you."

Chibimon cocked his head around to look at her, and defended. "I'm not a thing!"

"Leave us alone!" she shouted at the digimon, now standing right by him, and let out a short kick that scooted Chibimon away. She turned away rudely with her arms folded and left to join the Chosen.

Gumimon came and helped Chibimon up as the little digimon rolled to a stop. "Are you okay?"

Chibimon frowned. "She's so mean. What did I do to her?"

The two digimon sighed in defeat and sat alone by the sidelines, watching as the snowball fight progressed. Palmon soon came to join them, as they each cheered on for their respective partners.

"Take this!" Daisuke laughed as he managed to catch Natsu unaware. She giggled in joy as she turned around and ran after him with a snowball in her hand all ready and waiting to be thrown.

"They're so energetic," Mimi panted, coming to a halt beside Wallace. "Just who is she, exactly? And they're having so much fun in the snow, I can barely believe it."

"And I can barely believe that she prefers Daisuke over me," Wallace grumbled as the two went back to the digimon.

Natsu suddenly tripped over her feet as she ran after Daisuke, and fell over onto the snow. Daisuke immediately stopped and went over to her. Standing above her, he reached down a hand to help her up.

"Are you alright, Nat-chan?" he asked.

"Yes," she nodded with a bright smile as she took his offered palm and let him pull her back to her feet.

Daisuke couldn't help but smile back as she came to a stand right in front of him. As he prepared to turn around and rejoin the others, several flying sparks caught his attention behind Natsu. He gazed at the lights in awe. Natsu noticed his stare and turned around. It took him a moment to notice that she not yet released his hand.

"What are those?" she asked as she finally took notice of the flickering lights.

"Fireflies," Daisuke answered. "They're fireflies!"

"What are… fireflies?" Natsu questioned, the word containing a foreign tone off her tongue. She tightened her grip as if in fear.

"I saw them before today," Daisuke explained. "But why are they here when it's this cold?"

She looked at him oddly.

"Well, I mean, fireflies should only be seen during warm weather. Nat-chan, you're named after summer when fireflies are common. They're pretty like this, aren't they? In the snow, I mean."

She looked back at the floating lights, a cold stare covering her features. She spoke coldly, "I hate them."

"What do you mean?" Daisuke turned to her.

"The fireflies," Natsu said, this time with more force, "I hate them!"

"But… why?" he wondered. The fireflies began to fly off.

She ignored his question.

"Nat-chan…" Daisuke began, but Natsu immediately cut him off.

"You don't need to go with Chibimon and the others, right? Let's always stay together!"

"Together?" he blinked at her.

"Yes," Natsu said. "Together. I want to be with you, Daisuke. You heard my voice calling you, didn't you?"

"Yeah…" Daisuke replied uncertainly.

"Let's go then!" she said, tugging on his arm as she began walking away from the other Chosen and Digimon.

"Wait a second!" Daisuke said, at last letting go of her hand. "We can't just go off like that."

"Daisuke," Chibimon called over to him. "Come on over and let's play!"

He turned his back to Natsu. "Chibimon is calling me."

"What about Chibimon?" she questioned. "That thing is not cute at all, and it's so loud and whiny."

"Daisuke," Chibimon called over to him again, his voice pouting. "I'm hungry."

He frowned. "I can't just leave him like that. Come on, Nat-chan, let's go back."

"Daisuke…" Natsu began, and then clicked her tongue in frustration and angrily stormed off away from him. When they reached the group once more her scowl faded in place of a cheery smile. "Wallace! Hey, Wallace, what do you like to do? I want to know everything about you! Tell me, what do you like to eat, what games do you like to play?"

Chibimon blinked as Natsu continued to talk with Wallace. He looked up at his partner as Daisuke bent down to lift him up. "Daisuke, have you been turned down again?"

Daisuke rolled his eyes, and immediately dropped Chibimon back down on the snow. "Don't start that again! It wasn't really anything anyways."

"But Nat-chan is flirting with Wallace now," Mimi said.

Chibimon sighed as he sat back up from where he had landed. "I guess it just can't be helped since Daisuke doesn't have what it takes to get a girl."

"You know, you could be more comforting," Daisuke groaned at his partner.

"But I am!" Chibimon insisted. "See, even if you never get a girlfriend because they'll always turn you down, at least you'll always have me around! That's comforting, isn't it?"

Daisuke simply groaned again in reply.

* * *

The group walked back through the flailing snow as they made their way to the house they had previously used for shelter. When they finally reached their destination, Chibimon sighed in glee as he came in through the doorway. "Ah, finally some warmth!"

"Is this really alright?" Daisuke wondered. "I mean we're just barging into someone's house."

"It can't be helped," Mimi said. "We need shelter and there's nobody around anywhere. Until we can find a way back to our own world we better stay safe."

"And there might be a dangerous digimon out there!" Chibimon added. He was confident in his ability to still sense it. The digimon was still around somewhere.

"I guess so," Daisuke muttered.

Gumimon spoke out. "Wallace, I'm hungry."

Natsu mimicked his words. "Wallace, I'm hungry as well."

"Just make yourselves comfortable in the living room and I'll check if there's any food in the kitchen," Wallace replied. He disappeared through a door into the hallway, and the two followed right after him.

"Those two are so reliant on Wallace," Mimi observed. She settled down near by the fireplace along with her partner and Chibimon.

"What is she?" Daisuke asked from where he stood in the doorway. "I mean, really, it's so strange. How come she's here when there's nobody else around? Why did only I hear her voice calling me?"

Mimi laughed softly. "Gosh, Daisuke-kun, you can't get your mind off that girl."

Daisuke frowned. "But really, don't you find this the least bit odd?"

Mimi shrugged. "She's just a cute girl that's alone and lost. And you're really into her."

Daisuke didn't reply. A short silence followed that was broken by Chibimon whimpering out in pain. "Ouch!"

Mimi and Daisuke looked over to the little digimon, who had seemingly gotten a bit too close to the fire and seemed to be fanning several parts of his body with his little hands.

Daisuke asked. "What are you doing, Chibimon?"

The little digimon sniffled. "I just wanted to get a bit warmer…"

"Why don't we go get some more wood, then?" Daisuke offered, and ushered his digimon outside the room. Mimi laughed softly at the pair as they disappeared from view.

Chibimon yelped when they exited the household. He immediately wanted to turn back. "But the snow outside is so cold!"

"Well we'll have to get used to it," Daisuke said. He quickly noticed his words weren't of any comfort.

"Come rest inside my jacket," Daisuke said, picking up Chibimon and placing him within his winter coat, and zipped up just far enough to his digimon's head that he'd be able to see.

"Is that any better?" Daisuke then asked, looking down at his partner whom gave a sigh of relief.

"Ah, finally feeling warm…" Chibimon said, cuddling up against his partner's chest. "Thanks very much, I'm alright now."

Daisuke let out a small sigh. He wondered out loud, spilling his thoughts to his partner, "Why are we really here? I can't think of anything that could so suddenly end the summer in New York."

Chibimon shrugged slightly. "There's a reason. We just haven't figured it out yet."

"What makes you think that?" Daisuke asked.

"There's always a reason!" the digimon said.

"And there's a reason why you're with me?"

"Of course," Chibimon said. "You lifted the Digimental of Courage."

Daisuke paused for a moment in thought. Then he said, "And what if someone else had lifted it instead?"

Chibimon blinked, looking up at his partner. "You and your strange thoughts. You've been thinking about a lot since the whole thing with Hikari, you need to clear your head."

"Yeah, well, a lot's been happening lately," Daisuke defended, feeling insulted. After a few dry branches came into view, he pulled his digimon out of his coat, setting him down on the ground.

His partner gasped in surprise. "Don't let me out like into the cold like that! Do you want to just let me freeze like this?"

"You're yelling a bit too loud," Daisuke said. "If you never wanted to help then why don't you just head on back to the house, then?"

"Why should I?" Chibimon asked. "As your partner I need to be with you."

"Yeah, well, as my friend you're not helping out at all. You keep insulting me about Hikari-chan. You should learn when to back off."

Chibimon frowned. "Daisuke, this isn't like you."

"Yeah," His partner said, letting the branches he had been holding drop to the ground. He ignored them and looked ahead. "I know. So anyways, see you, head back to the house."

"And where are you going to go?" Chibimon asked as Daisuke began to walk away.

"I'm going for a walk to clear my head," Daisuke said, leaving his digimon as they began to part. "I'll come back afterwards."

Daisuke mused to himself as he walked down the street. In the silence that surrounded him he heard footsteps following him. He turned around, "Chibimon I want to be alone for a while, so don't follow me!"

Natsu stepped out from behind a nearby building. "It's not Chibimon that's following you."

"Nat-chan…" he breathed, looking her over.

"What's wrong with Chibimon?" she asked.

"We had a fight," Daisuke admitted sheepishly. "It's nothing really, and what about you? Why are you here?"

Natsu frowned a bit. "Hum."

"Well?" he asked.

"Wallace and Gumimon have each other," Natsu began, her frown remaining. "The same is with Mimi and Palmon. I, however, am all alone."

"I see," Daisuke simply said, his thoughts on what Mimi had mentioned earlier. He motioned for the two to begin heading back to the household, and together they slowly walked back down the path.

"Everyone's got it great but me," she said as they moved.

Daisuke said, "It's not that great, really. We had to go through a lot of danger with our digimon. And when most of it was over we still had to hide them from our families."

She smiled faintly. "It still seems very lovely."

"Aha," Daisuke said. "You want a digimon of your own, don't you? Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get one soon. When I found Chibimon, I was sure he was going to be an awesome partner. I know that you'll someday feel that happiness, too."

And his own spoken words stung him; Daisuke realized that he was in due order to apologize to Chibimon for his outburst earlier.

"You're very kind," Natsu told him. "That's why you heard my calling."

"Wow," Daisuke said. "That's… that's the first time a girl has called me kind before. I'm not sure if you have the right guy, though. See, I have this friend Ken and he and I…"

"But something's different," Natsu interrupted him.

"What do you mean?"

She continued. "What I wish for is not a digimon partner at all. What I wish is for you, Daisuke."

"Me?" Daisuke asked in surprise.

"Yes," Natsu said. "I wish to always be with you just like you and Chibimon are always together."

They were reaching close to the house now, and before Daisuke could reply a piercing cry of pain from Chibimon interrupted him. The Chosen gasped, turning to face the house.

"Chibimon!" he cried out and broke into a run towards the house.

"Daisuke, don't leave…" Natsu frowned at him, but he didn't hear.

The little digimon's cries for his partner could be heard from where she stood. "Where is Daisuke? I want to be with Daisuke!"

And Daisuke continued to run towards the household. He yelled out, "I'm coming, Chibimon!"

Natsu frowned and then turned around, walking away from them. "Farewell, Daisuke..."

* * *

Chibimon whimpered. "I'm freezing... I felt like I was gonna die!"

"You're not going to die," Daisuke said, having come into the house and instantly knelt beside his partner. A series of apologies had followed, from both Chosen and Digimon. "Just stay with me here, Chibimon."

Daisuke turned around to the others. "Why is it so cold here?"

Mimi came into the room, and covered Chibimon with a blanket. "Here you go, this should help you warm up."

"Sorry about this, Mimi-san," Daisuke said. "It's my fault this happened. I left him to come back here alone."

"Don't worry too much about it," Gumimon told him.

"I'm happy you came here to try and save me, Daisuke," Chibimon smiled, getting up covered by the blanket. "Thank you all, I feel much better now."

Daisuke smiled in return. "No problem. Besides, you've saved me countless times."

"What about that girl?" Wallace asked from behind. "She hasn't come back yet."

Mimi nodded. "It's true. She's still gone."

"I'll go look for her," Daisuke said, a resolved look covering his features.

"I'll go, too!" Chibimon piped up.

"We'll all go," Gumimon said, receiving no complaints.

They exited through the door as a group and a torrent of wind erupted around them, shoving them around. "That's one heavy wind blowing," Daisuke frowned.

The group continued on, calling out for Natsu as they moved past the blocks of the city. They finally stopped when a familiar set of sparkling lights once again caught their attention.

"Look!" Gumimon said, having been the first to see them. "Fireflies!"

Mimi gaped in amazement, as the floating lights headed in their direction and surrounded them, flying amongst the group. "There's so many of them."

Chibimon nudged himself against his partner. "They're pretty scary…"

"Wait a second…" Wallace said. "This seems familiar."

"What do you mean?" Mimi asked him.

The blond boy made a grab for one of the fireflies, catching it in his hand. He opened his palm and looked at the golden item in his palm. He turned it over, and gasped. "These aren't fireflies! They're data chips!"

Daisuke noticed a bit of discomfort by his legs. He looked down, and Chibimon was slapping away at them. It didn't hurt, but he still wondered what was going on with his partner, "Chibimon?"

"I feel weird…" Chibimon said, but didn't stop.

Daisuke frowned. "What are you doing? Stop hitting me."

"Whoa, I feel woozy, too," Gumimon said, and joined Chibimon in the assault against Daisuke's right leg.

"Gumimon, what are you doing? Stop that!" Wallace yelled at him.

Mimi then noticed that the once thought-to-be fireflies had landed on the digimon. She wandered over to them, cocking her head to the side as she inspected them. "Are these…? Aha!"

She snatched them off the digimon, who gasped at the experience.

Chibimon whined. "Mimi! That hurt!"

"Oh, my head…" Gumimon voiced.

"They're back to normal," Daisuke observed.

"Were those the data chips?" Wallace asked.

"Yup," Mimi said, presenting an open palm. "Here, look. This chip, this affected Chibimon and Gumimon."

"Must be bad data on them," Wallace said. "Kind of like with what once happened with Chocomon…"

"So they're not fireflies," Daisuke concluded

"Over here, Daisuke!" Chibimon called to him.

"What is it?" Gumimon asked.

"It's Nat-chan!" Mimi announced, seeing where Chibimon was pointing.

Natsu stood still, facing away from them in an empty street. A field of floating golden lights illuminated amongst her surroundings, slowly moving closer to the lone figure on the block.

Daisuke smiled. "It's good to know she's okay... let's go to her."

Wallace stopped him. "Daisuke, wait… look. The chips…"

Daisuke stared, and ran ahead. "They're… they're heading for Nat-chan!"

"How horrible…" Mimi frowned. "We have to go help her!"

Natsu remained unmoving as the golden flickering tornado engulfed her full features. At the rapid speeds of the flying chips, one by one they began to penetrate her very skin.

"The chips," Wallace said as they ran towards her. "They're all entering her… we're too late."

"Could it be…?" Daisuke wondered aloud.

"You're right!" Chibimon said. "That girl is a digimon. She was the digimon I sensed!"

The group stopped as a heavily familiar brightness engulfed their vision. The data chips continued to enter the newly evolving digimon. Natsu collapsed to the ground in her weakened state.

"She's evolving," Mimi said.

"Don't do this!" Daisuke yelled. "Stop!"

"We have to get away!" Mimi told Daisuke as she held him back from running to Natsu.

Chibimon agreed. "That's right, we can't fight here when we can't evolve."

"_Don't… go away_," Natsu breathed out in her fallen and fragile state.

"Hurry, Daisuke!" Wallace said. "We have to get away before she fully evolves."

"_Please… stay by my side…_" Natsu said, with her voice a ghostly hue.

Daisuke wanted to run up to her; to be with her, to laugh and cry and stay with her in all their joy. He so very much wanted to fully embrace his siren's song. No matter the cost. It was only his name being shouted by all those present behind him that held him back.

"_Forgive me, Daisuke…_" Natsu choked out.

Daisuke said. "It's her voice again, just a faint whisper. She's calling out to me."

"I don't hear anything," Chibimon said.

"We have to get away," Wallace tried to reason with his friend again.

"I can't leave!" Daisuke shouted back, and began running towards Natsu. "She's just lonely… she just wanted..."

"Daisuke-kun, come back!" Mimi yelled to him.

He managed to reach the fallen girl. He bent down, holding her with outstretched arms as the light illuminated about her. "Nat-chan, I… I never thought of you as a digimon. You wanted me as a partner; I'm so sorry. I didn't know. That's why you were so jealous of me and Chibimon…"

"Daisuke, don't do this!" Wallace shouted to him. "She's evolving! She's not the same person anymore! She's been affected by too much data! She won't turn back no matter how much you try! Remember what happened with me and Chocomon!"

"This is different!" Daisuke shouted back. "Because Nat-chan… because she was laughing and playing with us just a short while ago! She wanted us to be together!"

Mimi sighed. "Daisuke-kun, please… just stop. We have to get away."

Daisuke looked down at Natsu. "I'm by your side now, don't worry. I'm not afraid."

"_You're… not?_" she managed to ask.

"Not at all," he said. "Because… because you're Nat-chan!"

"It's hopeless," Wallace muttered. "Once she evolves she won't turn back."

Chibimon cried out to his partner, "Daisuke! Come back to us!"

The last of the data chips entered Natsu's body, and the surrounding golden light grew. Daisuke shielded his eyes, but couldn't dare to look away. Natsu managed to smile, and spoke with a weakening voice. "_Thank you, Daisuke, for staying with me…_"

"Nat-chan!"

"_Farewell…_" she said at last, and her body collapsed into a burst of sparkling data that began floating away with the breeze. Daisuke frowned, recognizing that as the death of a digimon. Her evolution had seemingly failed.

He screamed out his frustrations, "Nat-chan!"

"No more fireflies…" Gumimon said.

Wallace added. "And the girl is gone, too."

"Daisuke…" Chibimon walked up to his partner.

"She just… she just wanted a partner of her own," Daisuke sighed.

"Daisuke-kun, it's alright…" Mimi said, attempting to comfort him.

"It's not alright…" Daisuke began, but was interrupted.

"No!" Chibimon cried out. "You can't be her partner!"

"Chibimon…" Daisuke frowned.

"Because," Chibimon said, jumping into his Chosen's arms. "You're _my_ partner!"

Daisuke smiled, and nodded. "You're right. Thank you, Chibimon."

Mimi pointed. "Hey, look over there."

Wallace turned, and a small red egg with orange swirls began descending off towards the horizon.

"It's a digitama…" Wallace said.

A sudden flash blinded their sight, and the moment it had appeared it had already gone. Daisuke opened his eyes and looked around. The distorted look the buildings had in the other world was gone. And there was a noticeable difference in temperature…

"The sun is up!" Chibimon announced.

"Not a cloud in the sky," Mimi said.

"It's summer again!" Daisuke said. "We're back in our own world."

A car honked behind them, signaling them to get off the road from where they stood. They smiled sheepishly and rushed off towards the sidewalk. Other people instantly began crowding the city. They were really back.

Gumimon complained. "Oh, it's hot. It's hot. It's hot!"

"Be quiet," Wallace said.

"But it's really hot!" Chibimon joined in.

Daisuke said. "It'll be fine, you'll get used to it."

"I don't want to get used to it!" Chibimon whined. "Can't you do anything about the heat?"

Daisuke groaned at his partner. "It can't be helped!"

Mimi sighed softly. "I can't wait for that digitama to hatch. I'm sure Nat-chan will find the perfect partner."

"I wonder where her partner is..." Chibimon said.

Daisuke smiled. "Her partner is out there somewhere, probably here in New York. I hope we can see her again one day."

Chibimon smiled, too. Then he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Ah, Daisuke, I'm tired."

"Stop complaining," Daisuke warned. "We still have to go get our luggage."

"But," Chibimon started. "It's hot! It's hot!"

Daisuke sighed in defeat. It was going to be one very long summer.

* * *

End Notes:  
- IMPORTANT: The character Natsu, the plot, dialogue and events in this are all part of the 02 Drama CD "Natsu e no Tobira," which is in turn roughly translated as "The Doorway to Summer."- digitama is the Japanese term for digiegg.  
- Natsu is the Japanese word for summer.  
- This also clearly reveals what happened with Wallace's Chocomon in the third movie.  
- I am honestly unsure if Palmon is actually supposed to be in this or not. As far as I know, she either doesn't appear or doesn't have any lines, but Natsu mentions "Mimi and Palmon" without being introduced to or told about that digimon. It could very well just be a continuity error in the original Drama CD.


End file.
